All Forum Posts by: Jordan Robinson

I've experimented with various AI tools. I've often used Chat GPT for market analysis reports: examing counties in my state and comparing them in terms of population metrics, employment outlook, etc. It's good because it provides something concise I can share with my clients. I've also used Bardeen AI to automate various kinds of tasks such as quickly analyzing new deals when they hit the market. I see a lot of potential for future industry specific applications. 

I think this can be a great idea in theory, but has some practical concerns to be aware of. Firstly, I don't think breaking even from a cash flow perspective is necessarily a bad thing, especially if it's purposeful in creating an opportunity for your family. Real estate historically appreciates overtime and also has tax benefits that you can take advantage of. With that being said, there are other costs you'll incur besides the monthly mortgage such as: maintenance costs, taxes, and insurance. To break even you'd want to make sure that the rent being paid covers those expenses as well. On top of that I would consider some of the screening concerns that you'd take into account with a regular tenant even though it's family. Are they generating sufficient income to pay the rent? Evicting a family member sounds like an awkward situation, I'd want to think in advance of how you might handle them not paying. 

I don't know of any issues with taxes that could occur from you renting under market value. I think the larger concern is if it's financially viable for you. 

Is this a multifamily or single family property? Would all family members be on one lease or would you have separate leases? Considering your lease structure may be relevant in the future should you decide to refinance. 

I would also like to find a software to do what you're describing. In the past I've created my own excel spreadsheets using zillow/ NAR data for median sales price per square foot by zip code or county in my market. I basically would manually gather that data and put it in my spreadsheet and it would then allow me to very quickly get a rough fair market value estimate for a given property. I could have in theory done the same thing for median rents. Obviously it took a lot of manual work on the front end and is impractical to do that for the whole country.

I've flirted with the idea of hiring a freelance developer (via Fiver etc) to create something for me to do this automatically. Some companies like Zillow have this data accessible to developers via their APIs, but I'm not savy enough to tell you exactly how that works. But if you're willing to pay some money to get something built for you, the data is definitely available, I would recommend talking to some coders on Fiver. When I spoke to one a couple years back he quoted me $400 to build a program to do automatically what I was doing manually.

Hey Jeremiah, congratulations on taking the first steps in your real estate journey. Like you, I started young. I was 13 when I first learned about wholesaling and began diving into the real estate world. My best advice to you is to learn as much as you can. You're already in a great place, BiggerPockets, there are so many great podcasts and books you can find here and elsewhere that will serve as great beginner education for you. Listen and learn as much as you can and lean into what interest you the most. The next most important piece of advice I can give you is this: rather than spending your time trying to tackle deals on your own, invest your energy in identifying good mentors/ professionals that you respect and can learn from and work under. That alone can make a world of difference. Try to find a few respectable guys or firm doing what you think you want to do and work with them, try to add value where you can, ask questions, approach it as an internship or mentorship and stick with it. In addition to the forums of BiggerPockets you can try to engage with the local Real Estate Investor groups like Atlanta REIA. Always be mindful and discerning, I recomend involving your parents when doing any in person meetups or things like that. I'm from Atlanta as well and am happy to be a resource for you. The world is yours, much success!!

Respect goes a long way in general. Despite them being your tenant, for them it's their home. From where they have nowhere to retreat, whereas you are free to leave as you please. I would take the shoes off to honor their request or wear a shoe cover as others have suggested. I'm not sure where the tenant is from, but in many places removing shoes when entering a home is just the culturally appropriate thing to do. 

Hi Nora,

Sounds like a cool project. Columbus has a lot going for it, its been consistently ranked by AirDNA as one of Georgia's top STR markets. I would want to dive deeper into those metrics to identify its drivers and determine if your wellness retreat vision would be a good fit. I imagine a lot of it stems from Fort Moore and their personnel turnover (military PCSs).

Hi Nino,

I've worked with wholesalers in the past. Often it doesn't work out, but it can go well when they're astute and know what they're doing. For instance: they have a realistic understanding of local values, have relationships with end buyers and are clear on their buy box(es). Even better if they have they flexibility to double close when necessary. 

Hey Janani,

Did you ever move on one of those properties?

My client closed on one of the duplexes in Fort Valley earlier this year, very likely one of the ones you were looking at or very nearby. Most of them are being used for student housing and you want to get them leased up during the Summers. Trying to rent to students in the middle of the school year is difficult. Overall I think it's a good market, but on some of the properties we looked at the sellers were... less than honest. You want to be discerning, trust but verify. 

Let me know if you to talk Fort Valley horror stories. 

Hey Sabir, 

Podcasts and books have been great sources of knowledge and inspiration from me. 

BiggerPockets: On the Market and Passive Pockets are awesome.

My personal favorite right now for multifamily is The Rent Roll by Jay Parsons, he and his guests drop a ton of value. His guests are often from REITs and institutional capital managers. 

Good luck to you in your investing journey!

Another option to consider for that neighborhood is doing a coliving conversion and renting it out via a platform like PadSplit. Like going with STR/MTR, you would incur some additional costs with furnishing and possibly adding some partion walls for bedrooms, but cashflow may be somewhat higher and vacancy may be lower than STR. It may also be less management intensive than STR due to fewer turns. Once it's stabilized you may be able to sell to another coliving buy and hold investor.